A $1 fee will be added to tickets in and out of Barnstable Municipal Airport come April to help pay for the new terminal.

Barnstable’s airport commission approved the $1 passenger facility charge (PFC) at its Aug. 18 meeting after months of discussion. The new fee is expected to go into effect no sooner than April 1, 2010. With the vote, the airport will submit an application to the Federal Aviation Administration for a review process that could take about six months.

PFCs are assessed by airports on top of the price of tickets and are dedicated for specific capital purposes. Barnstable’s application will focus on funding needs for the new terminal.

There was no discussion at the commission meeting about how much the airport could expect in additional revenue. The $1 fee is assessed on enplanements, the off-loading or embarkation of passengers. This year's enplanements are down 18 percent to roughly 162,000. They have been as high as 211,000.

In July, the airport’s finance subcommittee recommended a PFC of $1.90, but the FAA requires whole dollar amounts. The commission’s decision was to aim lower in deference to the carriers and the economy.

The commission heard from Islands Airlines owner Scott LaForge at the meeting, who objected to the fee in the current climate.

“These are just horrible times,” he said.

LaForge said that the competitive market with the increasingly efficient fast ferry operations out of Hyannis, which are 20 to 25 percent better on price, make things more sensitive.

“Will it drive away a lot of business? No. Will it drive away some? Yeah,” LaForge told the commission.

The commission’s finance subcommittee had met earlier with Laforge and other air carriers, all of whom objected to the fee.

“If a $2 charge is going to devastate that market, then we’re in trouble,” Persuitte said.

Persuitte said that while the airport has other places to find revenue, all will ultimately come from airport users and passengers, whether through increased ticket prices, landing fees, parking fees, leases or fuel prices.

“We have to get the money from somewhere,” Persuitte said, adding that he empathized with the air carriers. “It’s a hard pill to swallow for a couple of days and it’s over.”

Finance Committee Chairman Don Megathlin supported the $1 charge. He agreed that the airport was at a pricing disadvantage to the ferry operations for tickets and parking, but also sought a broader financial perspective, The commission adopted a car rental charge, and is in the process of reviewing all of its revenue streams.

With 95 percent of all enplanements bound for the islands, adoption of such a charge is opposed by airport officials on both islands. Nantucket has taken the lead and has submitted a proposal to members of the Cape’s legislative delegation in Washington, D.C. seeking an air taxi exemption for the islands.

Barnstable airport officials went on record in July opposing that effort.

Finance committee member Michael Dunning supported adoption of the fee, but felt $1 would be sensitive to the airport’s carriers.

“Philosophically, I have a problem in a down market and a down economy in effect taxing yourself into prosperity,” Commissioner John Griffin said.

Commission chairman Dan Santos supported a $2 fee because he was concerned that $1 would not raise enough additional revenue.

Airport Manager Bud Breault planned to investigate the ability to set the effective date of such fees. The commission’s vote set April 1 as the start date, which is the start of the busier spring season.